EL LIBRO NEGRO DE PETER LIM 0 1 Attention! The Black Book of Meriton is a compilation of 101 documented scandals found in the press during the 6 years under the current mandate of the Valencia’s CF majority shareholder Peter Lim. The document is continually updated so, if you want the latest version, please download it at the next link libertadvcf.com/libro-negro-meriton. The Black Book of Meriton is a totally free pdf that you can download in Spanish or English. Please, if someone you know want this pdf, do not send it to him, direct him to our website to downloaded it from there. Moreover, one of the most important functions of this document is to make public, to the whole world, why Valencia’s CF fans are against Meriton. So, if you know any journalist or influential person, please, share this document and don’t allow them to be misled by the Fake News that Meriton publish in the mass media and put them in contact with us using our social media @LibertadVCF or our email [email protected] to have first-hand information. Finally, to keep updating this document, you can collaborate sending us corrections, mistakes that you found, or even new scandals or offences to the Valencia CF, through our email. #BlackBookMeriton Libertad VCF Team. THE BLACK BOOK OF MERITON 2 Prologue The text you’re about to read is our own list of grievances. A thorough list of a big chunk of the outrages executed by Meriton Holdings against Valencia CF. The list, however, is incomplete. We don’t have the time or space required to jot down every single example of slaps in the face which their representatives have been carrying on daily since they got hold of the majority of the shares in an auction process full of shameful and incredibly biased episodes. The list is incomplete, as we said, but all the events listed should allow us to paint a fairly complete picture. And you, critical-thinking Valencianista or all-around football fan who is worried about how the club is drifting into irrelevance, might have the chance to refresh your own knowledge or unearth lesser- known details about an infamy which has been taking place for too long. It’s absolutely crucial that we always keep in mind these examples of the sustainability and history of the club being trampled on. In order to finish the chapter of a book and start a new one, we first must actually read the book. If we don’t learn from our own mistakes, we’ll be doomed to make them again in the future. The club’s environment seems to have given up due to the alienating effect of erasing the club’s sentimental roots and the division caused by Meriton’s local yes-men and cohorts, who kickstarted the ‘fake fans’ policy a while ago. All of this has allowed Lim, Mendes and their minions to go over almost every red line imaginable without consequences. Fortunately, Valencia CF as an institution still has plenty of fighters for its freedom which will never give up while their club is destroyed. At the beginning, we were a repressed and silent minority; now, the resistance can be heard loud and clearly. We sincerely hope the self-defense against Meriton Holdings doesn’t come too late to finally liberate the club from its kidnapping by these tyrants. That’s why we think it’s absolutely crucial to perform as much self-criticism as possibly while reading all of the scandals and negative actions executed by Lim & co. This is a book full of outrage and despair, but also full of hope. Hope that there is a future for Valencia CF. A future which 100% requires us to get rid of the individuals which are making a profit from scalping and finally beginning a deeper democratization process which will give back the club to its only legitimate owner: the fanbase. Our final request, please, is that this black book of infamy should reach as many people as possible. Please help us to do so. We must overcome these events in order to be free again. It must reach every single fan, supporter, media, outlet and platform possible (also internationally) which might be open to listen to our complaints; the complaints of people who love a club which has brought joy and happiness to many people in the last hundred years. THE BLACK BOOK OF MERITON 3 This black chapter of our history will never be forgotten. We mustn’t forget it. We mustn’t if we want future generations to really enjoy Valencia CF as much as we have done in the past. Amunt València! Author: Últimes Vespradres a Mestalla THE BLACK BOOK OF MERITON 4 It all started with the virtual pen of two little bats that yearned for freedom THE BLACK BOOK OF MERITON 5 #01 Valencia sacks Juan Antonio Pizzi 02/07/2014 When the negotiation for the purchase of the majority shareholding parcel was almost done, Peter Lim demanded the club’s board of directors to fire coach Juan Antonio Pizzi and replaced him by a coach of his trust, Nuno Espírito Santo. The Argentine coach had one year remaining on his contract and the results in the League and in Europe supported him, but even so he was dismissed “in order to provide stability to the future sports project and due to reasons beyond the club’s management.” Source: https://www.20minutos.es/deportes/noticia/pizzi-destituido-entrenador-valencia- 2183361/0/ #02 Valencia signs André Gomes and Rodrigo over their market value 03/12/2014 With the arrival of Peter Lim in Valencia, the club from the city of the Turia signed Rodrigo Moreno and André Gomes, two footballers who belonged to S.L. Benfica. Their landing was a market movement that entailed discussion for long. The deal was closed after a high amount paid for the players and some clauses in their respective contracts which could increase their cost in the long term. Both the Portuguese and the Spanish-Brazilian players came to cost more than €45 million, an amount that far exceeded their unofficial appraisal, according to various independent companies. Sources: http://www.deportevalenciano.com/2014/12/10/rodrigo-acabar-costando-40-millones https://www.elmundo.es/deportes/2015/06/15/557eb87dca4741607b8b4589.html https://as.com/futbol/2014/12/03/primera/1417575917_563848.html THE BLACK BOOK OF MERITON 6 #03 Valencia signs Álvaro Negredo after suffering a long-term injury 02/09/2014 With the summer transfer window about to end, Peter Lim brought in Álvaro Negredo as a star signing for the club for €22 million, naming the deal as “the market bomb.” The Madrid-born striker landed in Valencia while recovering from a fifth metatarsal injury he had suffered while playing for Pellegrini’s Manchester City. It prevented him from playing the first matches of LaLiga. His first minutes as a Valencia player arrived against Elche CF on October 25, 2014, and he received a warm ovation from the fans. However, the striker did not end up fitting in the club and his performance never reached his expected level. He scored only 18 goals in 74 games, which led Suso García Pitarch to get rid of him on a loan move to Middlesbourgh, coached by Aitor Karanka at the time. Source: http://www.deportevalenciano.com/2017/08/02/negredo-tiburon-mordio-valencia #04 Valencia prevents local music bands from playing at Mestalla and puts an end to a tradition of over 25 years 10/09/2014 Since 1994, more than 300 local music bands from all over the Valencian Community have stepped onto the pitch of Mestalla in the run-up of the matches to cheer on the fans. However, the club withdrew their invitation for some time because they believed that the bands prevented the good visibility of the static advertisements and that the musicians were spoiling the pitch. Both arguments were proven false and even denied by the advertising company itself. Source: https://elpais.com/deportes/2014/09/10/actualidad/1410350438_095770.html THE BLACK BOOK OF MERITON 7 #05 Valencia prevents Curva Nord fans from displaying an honorary ‘tifo’ 26/02/2015 Valencia didn’t let the members from its cheering stand show a display that had been set for March 13. It represented the cape of the guardian Virgin of Valencia “La Mare de Déu dels Desamparats”, along with the club and city crests, accompanied by to some emblematic buildings of the city. The club alleged that the display wasn’t allowed because it included religious reasons, although in the following seasons there have been gestures through social media for other religious holidays such as Ramadan. The members from Curva Nord showed their outrage to the club for the ban, but Valencia did not give further explanations about the fact. Source: https://www.levante-emv.com/valencia-cf/2015/02/26/valencia-cf-impide-curva-nord-12671386.html #06 Peter Lim addresses the ‘Che’ fans for the first and last time 24/05/2015 Since Peter Lim became Valencia’s majority shareholder he has only addressed his club’s supporters and shareholders at Christmas 2015, when he gave an interview on VCF official TV channel in which he answered questions asked by the entity. Since then, the Valencia majority owner has never again addressed the ‘Blanquinegre’ fans personally. Source: https://youtu.be/i6zck5tdIR4 THE BLACK BOOK OF MERITON 8 #07 Doubts about the signing of Portuguese winger João Cancelo 26/06/2015 Due to the lack of transparency on the part of the club in any purchasing or sale operation, the transfer of João Cancelo to the Che club brought with it some questions that were never answered by the entity.